President
Barack Obama is expected to name Chuck Hagel as his choice for defense secretary
as early as Monday, as critics of the former Nebraska senator prepare to go to
war to fight his expected nomination.
White House
officials and sources close to Hagel declined to confirm to The Cable that Hagel
is the president's choice to be the replace Leon Panetta at the helm of the
Pentagon, but several sources close to the process said have told The Cable that
the White House and Hagel have been in touch on a regular basis and that Hagel
is indeed the expected pick. Decisions about the timing and logistics of the
announcement are being finalized now.
The Cable had
previously confirmed that Hagel successfully complete the vetting process, as
have Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter and former Under Secretary of Defense
for Policy Michele Flournoy.
Meanwhile, Hagel's detractors are moving forward with their campaign against the nomination, which has been expanding ever since The Cable first reported in November that Hagel was in consideration for the Pentagon post. Foreign Policy
Hagel had come
under intense criticism from pro-Israel interest groups for past comments.
Drawing particular fire was a quote from his 2008 book, wherein he said, "I'm
not an Israeli senator. I'm a United States senator." He added, "I support
Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office to the Constitution of
the United States, not to a president, not to a party, not to Israel. If I go
run for Senate in Israel, I’ll do that." Huffington Post Hagel
currently chairs the Atlantic Council think tank, which this month published a
column titled “Israel’s Apartheid Policy,” and has made controversial comments
about Israel—such as “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people,” which he
was quoted as saying in 2008. He has also come under fire for his remarks about
homosexuals. algemeiner.com Sen. Lindsey
Graham (R-S.C.) said on Dec. 30 there would be "very little Republican support"
for his nomination. Huffington Post Obama defended
Hagel in a “Meet the Press” interview last week, saying there was nothing that
disqualified Hagel from being selected. The Hill Obama faced the
potential loss of a second national security selection if he did not pick Hagel,
as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice took herself out of
consideration to be the next secretary of state amid an avalanche of criticism
from Republicans over the attacks in Benghazi, Libya. The
Hill
AGB/AGB
- Latest News
- Top Hits